'Corruption' claim not good enough

9/16/07
No one would deny Bridgeport has a sorry history politically. With a former mayor and an ex-state senator still in prison, the city is no stranger to corruption of every sort, electoral and otherwise.
But it takes more than history to make an accusation true. And though the Democratic mayoral primary last week was close, state Rep. Christopher L. Caruso seems to have little more than history to go on at this point. He says the fix was in, while all available evidence shows that he simply lost.
Caruso seemed to have all the cards in his favor this time. The formerly popular incumbent was not running, his opponent had low name recognition and a coalition of disaffected local politicians had rallied around his cause. Many observers considered him the favorite to take the nomination and then, at long last, move into the mayor’s office. That he came up just short can only be devastating.
Caruso made the Democratic Town Committee his campaign’s No. 1 target. He promised to clean up the corruption he said was rife in every aspect of local government, from City Hall to Seaside Park. When the results came in, his first instinct, naturally, was to blame a corrupt political system for his own shortcomings as a candidate. It’s far past time he either backs up his claims or just backs off.
For someone who says he loves Bridgeport, his constant attacks and never-ending complaints are damaging — and wearisome. They do nothing to help the image of the battered city; when all anyone hears from a top city politician is how awful the local bureaucracy is, the message sticks. He needs something concrete, and he needs it now.
The few instances of irregularities have been addressed. Some ballots wouldn’t go through one machine because of humidity; they were counted by hand. Some nebulous claims of poll workers pointing to names on the ballot have as yet been unsubstantiated. Yes, it was a rainy day with accompanying depressed turnout, but that’s hardly the same as fraud.
If there is something specific he can point to, the time is now. Otherwise, throwing around baseless charges of outright fraud is not only hurtful to Bridgeport, but destroys whatever credibility he might have left.
It’s never easy to move on, but Bridgeport’s Democratic voters have spoken. State Sen. Bill Finch won. He lost.